Liberal Union of Italy

The Liberal Union was a political alliance in Italy that existed from 1913 to 1922. The alliance formed when the liberal Sinistra Liberale and the conservative Destra Liberale merged in a single centrist and liberal coalition which largely dominated the Italian Parliament. The party's ideological diversity led to disunity during World War I, as Prime Minister Antonio Salandra entered Italy into the war on the side of the Entente, while the alliance's founder, Giovanni Giolitti, was a strong advocate of neutrality. After the war's end, the party introduced universal suffrage and proportional representation, and the rise of political extremism during the Interwar period led to the rise of the Italian Socialist Party on the left and the Popolari on the right. In 1919, the Liberals placed fifth in the election, and the Liberals founded the Italian Liberal Party in 1922.